Cut-off-valve controller.



No. 717,812. PATENTED JAN. '6, 1903. G. H. CLOVER. CUT-OFF VALVE CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18, 1902. N0 MGDBL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES //v VENTOI? W kfi'zkflaref v A Tram/E rs PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903.

No. 717,812. v G. H. CLOVER.

' CUT-OFF VALVE CONTROLLER.

APPLIGAINN FILED FEB 18, 1932. N0 MODEL. 2 fiHE-ETS-SHEE? 2.

' WITNESSES: V A INVENTOR MZzM IQ4W V V Giza/01L ag ATTORNEYS. v

' UNITED STATES PATENT OrEicE'.

GRIFFITH H. CLOVER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO J OHN J. BECKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CUT-OFF-VALVE CONTROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,812, dated January 6, 1903. Application filed February 18,1902. Serial No. 94,537. (No model) T0 at whom it mayhem/corn:

' Be it known that I, GRIFFITH H. CLovEn, a-

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of 5 Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Cut-Off-Valve Controller, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to compound steamengines; and its object is to provide anew and improved cutoff -valve controller arranged to govern the cut-off valve of the lowpressure cylinder according to the load, so that the engine runs with great regularity and without shock or jar, the controller being simple and durable in construction, readily applied to the engine, and not liable to get out of order.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same, as will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specificatiomin which similar characters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the improvement as applied to the trip-collar of a Corliss compound engine. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the cut ofi indicator to show the amount of the cut-off of the valve; and Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the high and low pressure cylinders, the receiver, and valve gear connections of a Corliss engine with the improvement connected thereto.

In the drawings, 1 represents the high-pressure cylinder of a Corliss engine, 2, the lowpressure cylinder, each being provided with valve-gear and connections of the usual kind, and 3 represents the receiver connected by pipes with the high and lowpressure cylinders.

The trip-collar A of the cut-off valve of an engine of this type is provided on one side with an arm B, pivotally connected by a link C with one end of a lever D, carrying at its other end an adjustable weight 1); the said lever being fulcrumed at or near its middle on a link E, held on a bracket E, attached to carried by a post G, attached to the base of the engine or other suitable part thereof. In the pressure-cylinder F reciprocates a piston H, connected by its piston-rod H with the lever D on the side carrying the weight D, as plainly shown in Fig. 1, so that the weighted lever imparts a down or return movement to the piston 'H, as hereinafter more fully de scribed.

The pressure cylinder F is connected at its lower end by a pipe I, havinga valve 1, with the receiver of the engine, so that the steam passes through the pipe I into the lower end of the cylinder F to act against the bottom of the piston H, so as to move the same upward against the weighted lever D to imparta swinging motion to the same and to consequently turn the trip-collar Ato reduce the cut-off of the cut-off valve. When the steam-pressure becomes less in the cylinder F, then the weighted lever D forces the piston H to move downward, whereby the trip-collar A is turned in an opposite direction to enlarge the cut-off of the'valve, and thereby admit more steam to the cylinder. ,7 The upper end of the cylinder -F is providedwith a drip-pipe J, open to the atmosphere. Now in order to insure a gradual up-and-down swinging movement of the lever D and a consequent easy turning of the trip-collar A in either direction to avoid all shock or jar, I connect the end of the leverD adjacent to the link 0 with the piston-rod K of the piston K, reciprocating in a cushioningcylinder L, pivotally connected at its bottom by a projection L with the support G. A by-pass N connects the ends of the cushioning-cylinder L with each other, and in the said. by-pass is arranged a valve N under the control of the operator to regulate the flow of the fluid in the cylinder L from one end to the other. The cylinder L is preferably filled with oil, glycerin, or the like fluid to give the desired resistance to the piston K in both its up and down movement, it being understood that this can be increased or diminished by adjusting the valve N so as to allow more or less of the fluid to pass from one end of the cylinder to the other within a given time.

The lever D is fulcrumed on the link E and 50 the pressure-cylinder F, held on a support G, the cylinder L is fulcrumed on the support G,

so as to allow the piston-rods H and K, connected with the lever D, to have free and easy movement without danger of binding in their bearin gs. The cut-off-valve controller above described by regulating the cut-9E controls the receiver-pressure and causes it to remain constant.

In order to indicate the amount of the cut off of the valve, I provide the trip-collar A with a graduation, (see Fig. 2,) on which indicates a pointer P, fixed to a stationary support, such as the bonnet A of the cut-off valve. Now it will be seen that when the trip-collar A is turned the pointer indicates on the graduation O the amount of the cutoff. As shown in the drawings, the indicator is in the form of a curved graduated plate secured to the periphery of the trip-collar and from which the arm B extends.

I do not limit myself to the particular application of the improvement to the low-pressure cylinder of a Corliss engine, as the device may be used for other purposes without deviating from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination with an engine having a high and low pressure cylinder, a receiver and valve gear, of a controller having a weighted lever oporatively connected with the device consisting of a fluid-containing cylinder and a piston in said cylinder and cutofi valve of the low-pressure cylinder, a cushioning device connected with one end of the said lever, and an actuating device connected with the weighted end of the said lever, the actuating device comprising a pressure-cylinder connected with the receiver, and a piston in the said pressure-cylinder and connected with the weighted end of the lever, as set forth.

2. The combination with the engine-cylinder, and the cut-off valve, of controller comprising a pressure-cylinder, connected at one end with a pressure-supply, a piston moving in the said cylinder, a lever connected with the piston-rod of the said. piston and carrying a weight to govern the return movement of the said piston, the said lever being operatively connected with the cut-oif valve, a cushioning-cylinder pivoted at its lower end and having a valve-controlled by-pass to connect its ends with each other, the cushioningcylinder being filled with a fluid, and a piston in the said cushioning-cylinder and connected with the said lever, as set forth.

3. In a compound engine, the combination with the lowpressure cylinder, and a cut-off valve having a trip-collar provided with an arm extending therefrom, of a cut-off-valve controller,comprisinga pressure-cylinderconnected with a fluid-pressure supply, a piston movable in the said cylinder in one direction, by the fluid passing into the cylinder, a lever carrying a weight and connected at its weighted end with the said piston, the weighted lever imparting a return movement to the said pieton, a link connecting the other end of the lever with the arm on the trip-collar of the cut-off valve, a cushioning device connected with this end of the lever and comprising a cylinder having a valved by-pass connecting the ends of the cylinder with each other, the cylinder being filled with a fluid, and a pis ton in this cushioning-cylinder and connect ed with the said lever, as set forth.

4. The combination with an engine-cylinder, and a cut-0E valve having a trip-collar, of a curved graduated plate secured on said trip-collar, and a fixed pointer indicating on the said graduation the amount of the cutoff of the valve.

5. The combination with an engine-cylinder, and a cut-ofi valve having a trip-collar, of a graduated plate secured on the trip-collar, an arm extending from said plate, a fixed pointer on the bonnet of the cut-off valve, and a controlling device for governing the cut-off valve and connected with the said arm, as 'set forth.

6. The combination with an engine having a high and low pressure cylinder, a receiver, and valve-gear, of a controller for governing the cut-off valve of the low pressure cylinder, the said controller comprising a weighted lever connected with the trip-collar of the cutoff valve, a cushioning device consisting of a fluid-containing cylinder and a piston in said cylinder and connected with one end of said lever, a pressure-cylinder connected with the receiver, a piston in said pressure-cylinder and connected with the other, or weighted end of said lever, as set forth.

7. The combination with an engine having a high and low pressure cylinder, a receiver and valve-gear, of a controller for governing the cut-0E valve of the low-pressure cylinder, the said controller comprising a pressure-cylinder connected at one end with the receiver, a piston moving in the said cylinder, a lever connected at one side of its fulcrum with the piston-rod of the said piston and carrying a weight to govern the return movement of the said piston, a link connecting one end of said lever with the trip-collar of the cut-off valve,

a cushioning-cylinder having a by-pass to connect its ends with each other, the cushioning-cylinder being filled with a fluid, and a piston in the said cushioning-cylinder and connected with the said lever at the other side of its fulcrum, as set forth.

8. The combination with a compound engine having a high and low pressure cylinder, a receiver and valve-gear, of a controller for governing the cut-off valve of the low-pressure cylinder, the said controller comprising a pressure-cylinder connected by a valve-controlled pipe with the receiver and provided with a drip-pipe at its upper end open to the atmosphere, a piston movable in the said cylinder in one direction by the fluid passing into the cylinder, a lever carrying a weight at one end and connected at its weighted end with the said piston, the weighted lever imparting a return movement to the said piston, a link connecting the other end of said lever with the trip-collar of the cut-off valve, 3 cushioning device connected with this end of the lever and comprising a cylinder, having a valved by-pass connecting the ends of the cylinder with each other, the cylinder being filled with a, fluid, and a piston in the cushioning-cylinder and connected with the said IO lever, as set forth. 4

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GRIFFITH H. CLOVER. Witnesses:

ROBERT JEFFERSON, R031. A. HINTZE. 

